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Elizabeth man sentenced to 14 years in prison for eluding police officer

By:
achristopher518

Posted at 5:17 PM, Jun 14, 2013

and last updated2013-06-14 17:17:47-04

ELIZABETH, New Jersey (PIX11) – An Elizabeth man received a whopping 14 years in prison for failing to stop for police while driving on a suspended license.

On April 22 the jury found 27-year-old Vambah Sherrif guilty of second-degree eluding, and on Friday judge Mary Gibbons Whipple delivered the hefty sentence.

On Feb. 3, 2011, Florham Park police officer Brian Mensing was on Route 24 conducting a routine patrol when he decided to randomly run Sherrif’s plates through the Mobile Data Terminal. After finding out that his license had been suspended, Mensing tried to pull him over.

Sherrif’s car came to a halt, but before the officer could approach it, Sheriff took off on Route 24, speeding up to 80-90 mph. The officer ended the pursuit, and Sherrif was later arrested in Elizabeth.

In addition to being sentenced to 14 years in New Jersey State Prison with 5 years of parole ineligibility, Sherrif is required to serve this sentence consecutive to a State Prison term presently being served out of Essex County.

The Acting Prosecutor Knapp had this to say:

“The crime of Eluding a Police Officer under N.J.S.A. 2C:29-2.(b) is extremely serious. Any individual who knowingly flees or attempts to elude any police or law enforcement officer after having received a signal from such officer to bring the vehicle to a full stop, as was done here, commits a crime of the third degree. However, in this case, it rose to the level of a second degree as the flight created a risk of death or injury. In this case, the defendant attempted and successfully eluded Florham Park Police Officers on a crowded highway at extremely high speeds, putting both the officer and the public at large in danger.”

“The sentence imposed by the Court is appropriate and justified based upon the seriousness of the offense and the threat to the public.”

In addition, Prosecutor Knapp thanks Police Chief Patrick Montuore and the Florham Park Police Department, the City of Elizabeth Police Department and the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office General Investigations Unit for the efforts resulting in Sherrif’s sentence.

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